At about three in the afternoon of March 23, 1995, as we've reported, police say the unnamed girl and two companions were in the vicinity of 8th and Wadsworth when they were engaged in conversation by an unknown male variously described as African American or Hispanic.

He subsequently gave the victim his pager number -- an action that further dates the events that followed.

A recent image of the area near 8th and Wadsworth.

The three girls left, changed clothes and then returned to a restaurant near the 8th and Wadsworth intersection, where they again saw the pager guy. He subsequently offered to give them a ride to a friends' house -- but after getting into a packed car (six men were inside), they were instead taken to an apartment in Denver on the 200 block of Sherman Street.

At the apartment, the police report continues, beer drinking ensued, but the victim was nervous and tried phoning her mom -- a call interrupted by one of the men

A short time later, two men left, but not before promising they'd return by 5 p.m. to take the girls home. While they were waiting, however, the man with the pager began kissing the victim's neck. She told him "no" and headed to another room in the apartment, but the affidavit maintains that he followed her and kept up his unwanted attentions.

And escalated them.

A recent look at the 200 block of Sherman Street.

After cornering the victim in a room, and sending another of his cohorts out to keep an eye on her friends, he allegedly grabbed the girl, threw her on the bed, and tried to force his hands down her shorts. The report says he then forcibly removed the garment and her underwear and raped her while threatening to punch her if she cried out. He's also said to have attempted anal sex and choked her to the point where she had difficulty breathing, all while another man stood watching -- and ignoring the victim's pleas for help. Only afterward were the girls allowed to leave.

The girl reported the crime the next day, after she'd bathed, which complicated efforts to get forensic information. A rape kit was performed on the girl, but no semen was detected in it.

The case subsequently went cold -- but it didn't die.

Continue for more about Markie Lee Peoples;s guilty plea, including more photos and the complete arrest affidavit.

The first attempt to revive the investigation took place in September 2004, when a new detective reviewed the evidence and arranged for it to be retested.

Once again, no semen was found in the victim's rape kit -- but some was detected on her underwear. Unfortunately, though, there weren't enough markers found in the sample to create a profile for uploading to the Combined DNA Index System, shorthanded as CODIS, as of March 2005.

Over the next eight years, DNA testing continued to improve, and in June 2013, yet another detective tried again to create a profile -- and this time, the gear was up to the challenge. The following September, the information was submitted to CODIS and quickly scored a strike with Peoples, age forty.

A photo of Peoples was shown to the victim in October. She didn't recognize him from the pic, but she confirmed that she'd never had consensual sex with him.

That was enough for the Denver District Attorney's Office to charge Peoples with sexual assault on a child and kidnapping, and he's now pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping a victim of sexual assault.

At his sentencing in January, Peoples is expected to receive a twenty-year jolt. Look below to see a larger version of his booking photo, followed by the arrest affidavit.

Markie Lee Peoples.

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Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.